Some insurance carriers have made changes to their coverage since the coronavirus outbreak began.
By Daniel Bortz
The coronavirus pandemic foiled many couple’s wedding plans this year, but at the same time, it has helped raised awareness of wedding insurance.
“When the pandemic first hit back in March, we were handling dozens of clients with cancellations, postponements, contract negotiations, relocations, and a flurry of questions from 2020 couples about how to move forward and handle their event in the safest and most reassuring way,” said Noelle Ahmad-Snedegar, who owns the Washington-based event-planning company Lily & Grayson Events.
“One question that we received many times,” she said, “and still continue to answer, is, ‘Do you think we should get wedding insurance?’”
Here is what you need to know about buying wedding insurance amid the pandemic.
Fewer Providers Offer Cancellation Insurance
There are two types of wedding insurance policies: liability and cancellation (or postponement) insurance. Liability covers incidents that happen during a wedding, such as property damage to the event space and bodily injuries to attendees. Cancellation provides reimbursement for deposits made to vendors — the venue, caterer, band, photographer, or florist — if a couple is forced to cancel or postpone their wedding because of weather, unexpected illness to the bride, groom or an immediate family member, military deployment, or for other reasons beyond their control.
But many insurance providers stopped selling cancellation insurance when coronavirus cases in the United States spiked in March, said David Berke, the founder of Manhattan-based eWed Insurance, one of the few large insurance companies still offering cancellation insurance. “Insurance companies are taking huge losses from Covid cancellations,” said Mr. Berke of the couples who filed claims after they or a family member contracted Covid-19.
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